


At The Only All-Night Grocery

by Written_On_The_Trees



Series: The Trees' Christmas 2020 Writing Collection [5]
Category: Motionless in White (Band)
Genre: And So So Sorry For This, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Awesome Grandmas being Awesome Grandmas, Christmas, Christmas Shopping, Dialogue Heavy, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, The Trees' Christmas 2020 Writing Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28014801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Written_On_The_Trees/pseuds/Written_On_The_Trees
Summary: Fic 5/12. Prompt: Christmas Shopping.Chris only went to the store for what he needed for Christmas dinner...but he ends up leaving the store with so much more.
Relationships: Chris "Motionless" Cerulli/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Trees' Christmas 2020 Writing Collection [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036293
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	At The Only All-Night Grocery

_Sweet potatoes, normal potatoes, onions, sage, pine nuts, tofu, vegan pastry,_ _cranberry sauce…_

Chris went over his shopping list, checking that he had each item in his cart before he headed towards the check-outs.

He wanted to get out of the shop as quick as he could - even though it was after ten o’clock at night, it was packed with people getting shopping in for their Christmas meals, and it was starting to grate on Chris’s last nerve. He actually loved Christmas, despite what some people may think by looking at him, but Christmas _food shopping_? Chris hated it. It was the one time of the year when his height, piercings, and general outwardly surly demeanor wasn’t enough to make people give him his space.

There were people far too close to Chris for him to be comfortable - _especially with fucking Covid still being a thing, you fucking idiots_ \- angry women looking like they would kill him for the last bag of carrots if it came down to that, men who clearly never shopped at any other of the year almost bumping into him when they wouldn’t look up from their lists, screaming kids - _why are they even out at this time?_ \- and the same three Christmas songs playing over and over again on the store’s tinny speakers.

It was enough to drive anyone mad, and he was more than ready to get the hell out of this hell on earth…but as soon as he’d made sure he had everything he needed in his cart, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.

He turned to see who wanted his attention - _because he was grumpy, not an arsehole_ \- and internally winced when he saw a little old lady looking up at him.

_If I get another lecture about wearing make-up, I am going to tear my fucking hair out…_

“Excuse me, darling, would you mind getting two cans of pea and ham soup off of the top shelf for me? I can’t quite reach, and my hips won’t let me climb on the shelves like I used to.”

Shocked by the words that he never would’ve expected from a little old lady, Chris stared at the woman for a second, before finally taking in a few details about the woman.

She might be old, using a cane to support herself and her back hunched slightly, dressed like something out of an old 50’s photograph…and a glittery blue mask. For an old lady, she looked like someone who didn’t give a fuck, and Chris couldn’t help but smile as he got the cans down for her.

“Of course,” he handed the cans over to her - trying to stand as far away as he could while doing so: “Here you go, ma’am.”

“As kind and polite as you are handsome.” the old woman smiled: “Are you single, young man?”

Chris was wondering how on earth he was going to answer that…when another voice saved him from answering: “Grandma, please stop flirting with men a third of your age.”

“I’m not flirting!”

The second woman - a tall woman with auburn hair and a ring in her nose - looked dubious…and thirty seconds later, she was proven right when her grandma chirped cheerily:

“I was seeing if he was single for you!”

Chris blushed - but the auburn woman seemed more than used to that kind of reply, and was just shaking her head at her grandma: “Really?”

“He’s such a nice young man.”

“Because he got you two cans of soup you didn’t need off of a shelf for you?”

“And because he kept his distance, and called me ma’am.”

Chris was…confused. So, _so_ confused.

He was more than willing to try and slide away without the two women noticing, but unfortunately _(or maybe fortunately)_ the auburn woman turned to him with a fondly exasperated expression on her face.

_And what a pretty face she has._

“I’m sorry about my grandma,” the woman apologised, her words snapping Chris out of thinking about how nice her face was: “She has ideas about me dying alone.”

“You’re not in your twenties anymore, Noelle!”

“I turned thirty last month, grandma, calm down!” Noelle laughed, before turning back to Chris: “Really, we shouldn’t keep you. I’m sorry my grandma tried to press-gang you into being my future husband.”

Chris smiled: “Well, as press-gangings go, it wasn’t the worst one I’ve ever experienced.”

Noelle blushed: “Oh really?”

“Oh! I think I see Bridgit,” Noelle’s grandmother announced, already wobbling away on her cane before she’d even finished speaking: “I’ll go and chat to her.”

Both Chris and Noelle watched her go, Chris laughing under his breath, while Noelle was outright laughing. She was pretty when she laughed, Chris noted - not that she wasn’t when she hadn’t been, but when she laughed her joy lit up her face in a way that made her prettiness something otherworldly. Angelic, even.

“Your grandma’s a riot.” Chris grinned as soon as the old woman was out of earshot.

Noelle rolled her eyes, but her affection was obvious in her voice when she spoke: “She’s something, alright.”

“I bet family dinners aren’t boring.”

“I dream of one Christmas where she doesn’t give me dating advice.” Noelle laughed again.

Chris saw his chance, and asked before he could chicken out: “Well, maybe if you had Christmas dinner at mine?”

Noelle raised an eyebrow…but a smile was curling at the corner of her lips: “Was my grandma’s pressganging actually successful?”

He smirked: “Maybe slightly.”

Noelle’s laughter lit up the whole aisle…and it seemed all the lighter when she gave him her number, and told him to call her so they could arrange to have dinner - albeit not Christmas dinner.

Chris was fine with that; he wasn’t going to come between Noelle’s grandmother and her family on Christmas, he wasn’t sure he’d ever live it down. Besides, he was just happy that Noelle had agreed to see him somewhere other than the grocery store. 2020 had been fucking crazy…but maybe 2021 would be better: especially if he was starting it with a date.

_And he’d only come in for cranberry sauce._

**Author's Note:**

> Guess the song the title is taken from!


End file.
